Julius Okorie
As the Euro 2024 Championship gradually move to a close, with four more matches to go, Continental heavyweights Spain and France lock horns in one of the semi-finals Tuesday night.
Boasting a flawless record so far, La Roja made it to Munich by eliminating their hosts in the previous round; meanwhile, Les Bleus reached the final four via a tense penalty shootout win over Portugal.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelA formidable force under Luis de la Fuente, Spain are the only team to have won all five matches thus far, and no nation in European Championship history has won six times in a single finals, or even posted six wins in a row.
Much credit has been handed to the former Under-21 boss, who instigated a tactical change upon taking over from Luis Enrique and is now reaping the rewards: his Spain side have recorded lower possession than their opponents twice this summer (48% vs Germany, 47% vs Croatia), which is more times than across 44 major-tournament matches between the 2006 and 2022 World Cups
Spain have progressed from four of five European Championship semi-finals to date – though they lost on penalties to eventual winners Italy at this stage three years ago and will now fight for the right to meet either England or the Netherlands on Sunday.
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That would be the Iberian nation’s fifth continental final, and the first since their brief but brilliant reign of dominance was wrapped up with victory at Euro 2012.
France on the other hand are aiming to reach a fourth European Championship decider, but only the second played away from French soil.
Didier Deschamps presided over the most recent one – 2016’s defeat to Portugal in Paris – and the double World Cup winner is intent on going one better this time around.
Since being beaten in the last World Cup final, his talented team been neither here nor there, and their progress to the semi-finals has been far less fluent than that of Spain, who swept past Croatia, Italy, Albania and Georgia before toppling the tournament hosts.
The team practically staggered into the semifinals of the Euro edition having lost out to Austria in race to top Group D, the team had unimpressive run against Belgium despite winning in the round of 16, before edging past Portugal in the quarters.
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It is different stroke for Spain and France. While Spain are seeking their fourth European title, France have two in the kitty and eye a third title after winning their last title in 2000 with a runners up finish in 2016.
The odds certainly favour rampant Spain who have been very clinical in this tournament but possibility of France raising their game cannot be ruled out. It is certainly a match to look out for to see how it pans out.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
